14-day-old Apis mellifera fed on sugar rep 1
Day-old adult bees were assigned to five different honey diet treatments: tupelo, locust, and buckwheat honeys individually, a free-choice three-honey treatment (TLB-Choice) and sugar control. For this experiment, all diets contained casein at a ratio of 1:12 protein to carbohydrate. After 14 days, surviving bees were chilled on ice and midguts were individually removed and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. The 14-day termination date was selected because it represents an approximate midpoint in a typical adult lifespan (55) and typically involves performing in-hive tasks, including comb building, food processing, and food storage (56, 57)